SOFTBALL: Henricks pitches Tigers to victory

E’ville to face Rock Island on Saturday

By Matthew Kamp, mkamp@edwpub.net

Updated
8:16 pm CDT, Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Edwardsville’s Anna Burke slides safely into home as Belleville East catcher Alexandra Boze waits for a throw from the outfield during the first inning of Tuesday’s game inside the District 7 Sports Complex. less

Edwardsville’s Anna Burke slides safely into home as Belleville East catcher Alexandra Boze waits for a throw from the outfield during the first inning of Tuesday’s game inside the District 7 Sports ... more

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Image 1 of 4 | Edwardsville’s Anna Burke

Edwardsville’s Anna Burke slides safely into home as Belleville East catcher Alexandra Boze waits for a throw from the outfield during the first inning of Tuesday’s game inside the District 7 Sports Complex. less

Edwardsville’s Anna Burke slides safely into home as Belleville East catcher Alexandra Boze waits for a throw from the outfield during the first inning of Tuesday’s game inside the District 7 Sports ... more

The Edwardsville senior left-handed pitcher now has two in as many games.

Henricks fired a one-hitter to send the Tigers to a 3-0 win over Belleville East in a semifinal of the Class 4A Pekin Sectional played inside the District 7 Sports Complex.

Henricks allowed only a fourth-inning double to Alyssa Krausz. She struck out one and walked one during her 98-pitch performance.

“It took a lot. We all worked together -- fielding and pitching. We did a really good job today,” said Henricks, who shut out Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 1-0 on Saturday.

Edwardsville improves to 22-3 with its 15th straight win.

The state’s 14th-ranked Tigers will play ninth-ranked Rock Island (27-5) at 11 a.m. Saturday in Pekin.

Belleville East, which won a sectional championship last year, ends its season at 28-8.

The Lancers have lost 14 straight to the Tigers. The last win for Belleville East was May 29, 2013.

Three of Edwardsville’s 14 straight wins against Belleville East came this season, including 8-1 on April 12 in Belleville and 2-1 in eight innings on May 8 in Edwardsville.

“I don’t know. I can’t really tell you what it is with why we haven’t beaten them since 2013. It’s not for a lack of effort. I don’t think our kids are intimidated,” Belleville East coach Natalie Peters said.

Belleville East entered Tuesday’s game averaging 7.7 runs, but the Lancers left Edwardsville with no runs, as they were shut out for the first time since a 2-0 win for Carterville on March 26, 2016. Belleville East went 102 games in between shutouts.

Henricks allowed only two runners to reach second and she retired the final seven she faced.

“There was a lot of offspeed, and I was able to hit my spots today,” Henricks said.

After waiting until the sixth to give Henricks the lead against SHG on Saturday, EHS got on the scoreboard in the first inning on Tuesday.

With two outs and Anna Burke on first, Maria Smith hit a ball that was misplayed in left. It allowed Burke to score from first for the 1-0 lead.

In the fourth, Smith smoked a home run to left that made it onto the junior varsity field to make it 2-0.

“I was just working and thinking where it would be pitched next. It was 3-2 and (Kristina Bettis) had to throw a strike,” Smith said. “I was going to bunt earlier in the count, but luckily I didn’t.”

It was the fifth home run of the season for Smith.

“She’s strong and she’s quick. If she gets hold of it, it’s going to go with as strong as she is,” Edwardsville coach Lori Blade said of Smith, whose homer traveled at least 240 feet.

The Tigers pushed the lead to 3-0 in the sixth when Emma Lewis scored on a delayed steal. She headed for home after an errant throw to second from Belleville East catcher Alexandra Boze, who was trying to catch Burke.

It was Belleville East’s 10th error of the season against the Tigers, including two on Tuesday that both led to runs.

“We don’t play the game we’re capable of playing against them at times,” Peters said.

It was more than enough offense for Henricks, who retired the side in order in the seventh to finish off her 10th complete game of at least seven innings of her career.

“She really threw a good game. She was right around the plate the whole day. To shut them out tells you she had a good game,” Blade said.

Henricks improved to 3-0 this postseason with three shutouts, including one of five innings against Springfield. She has allowed a total of six hits in 19 innings with 11 strikeouts and three walks.

Offensively, the Tigers finished with four hits against Bettis, including two by Smith.

Burke also had one to push her hitting streak to 13 games.

Bettis allowed three runs (one earned) and struck out three in six innings.

“Kristina is a fighter,” Peters said. “She gutted it out, and she has done that for us for her whole career.”

Edwardsville will now turn its attention to Rock Island. The Tigers last won a sectional championship in 2015, the second of two straight.

Rock Island is in the sectional field for the first time since 2004.

“We’ve only seen a few teams outside of the conference this season,” Smith said. “It’s going to be a good game.”